[BN] the know

We’re in a deep freeze for a day or two

Ken Urtel of Wrights Corners is bundled up as he assists with the ice wine grape harvest at Schulze Vineyards in Burt, where work began at six o'clock when the temperature was about six degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)

The Buffalo Niagara region remained in a big chill this morning, with temperatures dropping to about 5 degrees overnight and a cold air mass promising to keep the frigid temperatures around for another day or two.

“We’re going to remain in this cold pattern for several more days,” National Weather Service meteorologist David Thomas said. “We’re looking for highs today in the low teens, and some areas south of Buffalo will have highs in the single digits.”

On the bright side, though, the heaviest of the snow – including a high of 18 inches in Ripley, in Chautauqua County – may be behind us. Still, residents of Niagara and Orleans counties should expect more snow today and tonight.

Overnight low temperatures reached into the single digits, with 5 degrees reported in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Olean and other spots.

Franklinville, in Cattaraugus County, reported a low of 3 degrees.

“It’s been two or three years since we’ve seen temperatures this cold,” Thomas said.

Local residents unused to such frigid temperatures might wonder about record-setting cold, but the current cold snap doesn’t come close. The record low for Jan. 22 was minus 7 degrees, set in 1976.

Some relief is on the way, with high temperatures expected to climb into the low 20s by Friday.

Fairly heavy snow remains in the short-range forecast, at least for some areas.

The National Weather Service office in Cheektowaga recorded only 0.9 inches.

Generally, Monday’s snowstorm hit heaviest the farther south you went in Western New York. That should change somewhat today and tonight, with a band of lake-effect snow dropping southward from Lake Ontario. So Niagara and Orleans counties could receive 4 to 8 inches today and another 4 to 6 inches tonight, Thomas said.

Lake-effect snow warnings also remain in effect for southern Erie, Chautauqua, Wyoming and Cattaraugus counties, which could get anywhere from 4 to 9 inches.